Saturday, August 18, 2007

How disgraceful of me. I talk all about my upcoming computer in my last post but barely mention my current one. Her name is Lysandra. (Why yes, computers are female. Interpret that as you will but for me it is very much positive.) I love her very much. Boring stuff: Intel Mobile P4 1.8GHz, 512MB RAM, Radeon Mobility 7500 16MB, 40GB HD

Lysandra is very reliable and hardworking, requiring no hardware repair, the first computer I have owned with this distinction. We played lots together. Mostly Guild Wars toward the end. Unfortunately for some time, games became too difficult for her, being bloated pieces of software that can barely run on "minimum" requirements. And she's been sick for... oh, a year. I've been too lazy to back up everything to make her feel better with a fresh reinstall. (OhandIlostmyWindowsXPCD.)

Despite my naming her, I never really had any sort of mental image of Lysandra. Until a few months ago. I had stopped using wallpaper since Lysandra got sick since I needed all the performance I could get, but I badly needed to display this pin-up girl. Hopefully, you'll see why.

XP and XP-tan just have bad publicity IMO. As an OS, I liked XP Professional a hell of a lot more than 98 or 2000. Less crash and more game respectively. That XP-tan is so wonderfully easy on the eyes is just a lucky plus.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Nerds (or geeks, if you prefer) tend to have some degree of cross-training. That is to say, someone who focuses on console gaming may also have interest in sci-fi or fantasy. Or a videophile may also branch out into computing. And regardless, they likely have a decent working knowledge of classical mechanics, i.e. Newtonian physics. Well, at least my nerd friends are like that. And myself of course.

Nowadays I pigeonhole myself as a figure otaku. This status is relatively recent, as the obsession only started about November of last year. Prior to that I was primarily a PC gamer, and before that a console gamer. The whole time, I've been collecting anime DVDs and Magic cards.

None of these interests, primary or secondary, have really gone away, merely waxing and waning over time, usually tied to some real life change. My console gaming days were largely numbered when my sister left for college; no consistent audience/partner. My PC gaming days passed by as my laptop's wonderful Radeon Mobility 7500 could no longer run anything made in the last 2 years; it was a small miracle KOTOR 1 & 2 could crawl along enough for me to finish them! And even now, I can see my figure otaku days being numbered as the increasing cost and decreasing living space both crunch down on me.
My laptop will make 5 years old next month. I love little Lysandra very much, but it is time for me to move on. It's a pretty good time to be getting a new system, as multi-core CPUs are now mainstream and can be had on the cheap.

I've missed playing Guild Wars also; the graphics upgrade implemented in Nightfall murdered my playability. But instead of a preconstrct, this time I am venturining into the wonderful world of computer self-assembly. Naturally, I am an all-or-nothing person, so I'm going to make it harder on myself and do two machines at once: my average gamer's machine and my sister's budget gamer's machine. Being new and really paranoid, no overclocking is planned at all until pretty well into the lifecycle (i.e. when it starts to really suck). No aftermarket coolers for now.
Acronyms aplenty follow.

My parts:

CPU: Intel C2D E6550

MB: MSI P6N SLI Platinum

RAM: 2GB OCZ

GPU: 8800GTS 320MB

HD: WD Raptor 150GB

PSU: Silverstone ST75ZF 750W

Case: Cooler Master Elite 330

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate

Other: Lite-On 20X DVD Burner Lightscribe, Scythe S-Flex fans

Sissy's parts:

CPU: AMD X2 4600+

MB: MSI K9AG Neo2-Digital 690G

RAM: 2GB Patriot

GPU: 8600GT 256MB

HD: WD Caviar 500GB

PSU: Antec 380W (included with case)

Case: Antec NSK 4400

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium

Other: Pioneer 16X DVD Burner

I know for a fact that my PSU is currently overkill, but the price difference with 500-600W models was pretty small and I plan to use this computer for around 5 years. Consider the excess an allowance for age. Connections permitting, it may even be usable in the next build with the "green" computing craze for low-power parts.

These parts are already ordered. If FedEx delivers a miracle, it'll be here tomorrow. More likely it will be Monday.
I'll solicit reactions anyway and post the results of the build when they're done.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

(Well a long time ago when I was a wee teenage young'un, this was a website dedicated to uh... "the activities of consenting adults". Anyway, they're still around cuz I just Googled it. Nice to know. *ahem*)

Anyway, dakimakura are all the rage among otaku it seems. Or at least certain types of 'em. They depict the standard bishoujo variety, the busty, the loli, the meido. (NSFW) Weird perverse types like these sorts of things.

So I can't leave that stone unturned. Of course, I've joined their ranks.

Ryomou-chan, say hello to the nice people. (She's my first!)

I once heard that once a character flaw has become sufficiently bad, it eventually becomes twisted into becoming a point of pride. I think I've reached that point. =D

I most likey the side on the right:

I got a cheap body pillow from Sears for $10 some months ago in anticipation for this moment. Unfortunately, I stashed it out of the way since I didn't expect to use it for those some months and I'm too lazy to fish it out. Not to mention that I haven't thought of an appropriate place to store her. My collector side won't tolerate the *ahem* risks inherent with "storing" her on the bed...

Saturday, February 3, 2007

I have come to realize that a simple blog is insufficient for what I would like to do. In the interest of experimentation, I have started a Wiki... which seems to be closer to what I want, but is still not quite it. Currently the future of the harem is there, but its present not so much. I imagine both to be part of a greater whole. The harem lives! Take a look.